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Every day, you experience the benefits of hot water: in the shower, doing the dishes, washing your hands, cooking your food. No matter where it is, hot water has something to do with it. But have you ever stopped to wonder where all of this hot water is coming from, and what it has to do with your electrical bill? Well, here’s a quick guide to the dirty details of water heating:

The process starts with the cold water shutoff valve. Water is pumped from the municipal system through copper piping into your home, where it arrives at the water shutoff valve. If you don’t want your water heated, simply turn the handle until it’s perpendicular to the pipe. If you do want your water heated, keep the handle parallel to the pipe.

The water then enters the tank and flows all the way to the bottom in a dip tube. At the bottom, the pilot light heats two elements, and from there the heat flows to the burner, which burns much like a stovetop does. The cold water then heats up and then floats to the top, making room for more cold water to be heated.

All this burning can produce a lot of gas. Where does it all go? That’s simple. There’s a vent at the top of the heater, and the gas flows through the vents and right out of your house.

Call a Utah water heater specialist to learn how you can improve your efficiency and save money on your water heating!

Having an up-to-date furnace that runs properly is paramount to the health and happiness of yourself and your family. If your furnace is on its last legs, it could have dangerous side-effects, including rising energy bills and carbon monoxide poisoning, not to mention the possibility of spending a very cold night waiting for the repairman to arrive when your furnace breaks down. If you see warning signs, take care of them before an emergency arises. Here are a few signs that it’s time to make a call to a Utah furnace specialist:

1. Is your burner flame yellow instead of blue? If your flame is yellow and/or flickering, it could be a sign of the presence of carbon monoxide. Other possible signs of carbon monoxide leaks are:
   • Rust on the outside of your vent pipe
   • Rusting on appliance jacks, flue pipes, or other pipe connections,
   • No upward draft in your chimney
   • Water leaking from the base of the flue pipe, chimney, or vent
   • Streaks of soot around furnace
   • Unusual amounts of moisture on walls, windows, or other cold surfaces
2. How old is your furnace? Furnace life expectancy is 16-20 years. Does your furnace have a pilot light? If so, it’s certain to be at least 25 years old!
3. Are your gas or electric bills rising? With age and without proper maintenance, your furnace will lose its efficiency, requiring it to run longer to produce the same amount of heat.
4. Any furnace repairs in the last two years? Furnaces incur the most breakdowns in their last two years of usable life. If the number of breakdowns has been rising, it’s time to start looking into a furnace replacement.
5. Does your thermostat keep you comfortable? Are some rooms consistently warmer or colder than the rest? Do you have to constantly adjust the thermostat to maintain a comfortable temperature? If so, your furnace has lost the ability to distribute heat properly throughout your house.
6. Have you been feeling ill? Burning in the nose or eyes, headache, nausea, disorientation, and flu-like symptoms are all signs of carbon monoxide, the most likely culprit for which is a cracked furnace heat exchanger.

Every home deserves to have its air ducts cleaned at some point. The benefits of duct-cleaning are manifold. The air in your home circulates constantly. In fact, once dirt, dust, pollen, and other allergens enter your home through your forced air system, they can circulate up to fifty times per day! No matter how careful you are in changing your furnace filter, a certain amount of dirt build-up is inescapable. That’s why it’s important to have your ducts cleaned regularly: to protect your family and the quality of your air.

Every duct system deserves a regular cleaning, but here are three red flags indicating that your ducts just can’t wait any longer for their cleaning:

1. You find mold in your air ducts. Mold, constantly circulated through your home, can be tremendously detrimental to your family’s health.
2. Vermin have set up camp in your air ducts. Whether they be bugs, rats, mice, or other pests, vermin can hide out in your ducts, exposing your family to disease.
3. Dust and dirt are visibly released through your ducts.

When it’s time for some Utah duct cleaning, turn to Superior. Not only will we provide a free estimate, we’ll give you a video tour of your ducts to show you exactly the extent of the dirt and damage inside – before we even get started! Our heavy-duty, trailer-mounted push/pull system gets the job done every time – an enormous difference from old-fashioned roto-brush systems.

None of us expects a disaster, but you never know when one might take place. If you lose heat to your home for any reason in the coming winter months, you’ll need an alternate heat source until the problem is fixed. Here are a few things to remember when creating your backup heating plan:

1. Have a backup generator on hand. If you lose power, a backup generator will maintain heat in your home, keep food in the fridge from spoiling, and keep you connected with the outside world. Don’t be caught without one.
2. Space heaters. These work well in a pinch but can be expensive to run for long periods of time. Make sure you give your space heater plenty of space – if it’s close to furniture or other flammable material, you might face a home fire, a much bigger problem than a broken furnace.
3. The fireplace or woodstove. Keep things toasty the good, old-fashioned way. To prevent a fire, always store your wood outside, a good distance away from your home. Make sure your home is properly ventilated and that the flue is open. Arrange to have your chimney properly cleaned at least annually.

To make sure your furnace keeps you warm all summer and for more heating tips, contact the Utah furnace experts.

Water softeners need maintenance like anything else. From time to time, you may find that you need to use more soap or your skin doesn’t feel as soft as you’re used to. This may be an indication that your water softener is in need of repair and your water has become hard. A professional technician will be able to do a thorough test of the hardness of your water. However, there is one simple, unscientific test you can perform yourself to determine whether your water softener stands in need of fixing.

1. Fill a clean, clear bottle with one half-cup of water.
2. Add ten drops of dishwashing fluid.
3. Shake the bottle thoroughly.
4. Look at the result: if the soap has foamed up well, your water is probably fairly soft. However, if the soap simply forms a film on the water’s surface, it looks like its time to pay attention to your water softener.

Of course, you can also tell if you have a hard water problem if you have a white, hard water build-up on your shower doors and sinks. This is because magnesium and chalky calcium are leaching into your water from pipes and coming into your home. With a little attention from a Utah water softener expert, your skin will soon be feeling cleaner and softer, your water will taste better, and your family will be happier!